Father's Day Up North

The pups and I headed to Wisconsin this weekend to spend time with my dad.  The weekend trip was in honor of father's day AND his birthday.  I didn't make it up to see him on his birthday, so I made sure to bring presents and a cake.  I think I may have found a happy recipient of my baked goods.  Paul isn't much of a fan of sweet things, so it nice to have someone who promises to gobble them up.  Speaking of Paul, he wasn't along for this trip because the lucky duck is at a remote cabin in Canada.  The dogs were super happy to run free, especially Tchazo, who has had some health issues that prevent him from going to the dog park.

We took walks in the woods, where I got to forage a little.  My forest-provided snacks included wintergreen berries, wild strawberries, wild blueberries and clover.  The wild blackberries are looking robust this year, but aren't nearly ready for picking yet.  I was hoping that we would be able to forage for mushrooms, but so far, this year hasn't yielded the right conditions for oyster mushrooms.

Some really strong storms came through the area earlier this year, which caused a lot of trees to fall.  The picture at the top of the post is of trees that fell/  My dad has been busy clearing the fallen trees for use as firewood.  Judging by the stacks of wood around his place, it is going to be a warm winter inside of his house!

Jack struggled a little when the path he was following me on was blocked.  He isn't the smartest fellow and now he also copes with arthritis.  He isn't a spry young fellow anymore, plus he is partly blind and mostly deaf!  I needed to show him an alternative route around that tree.  All of the sudden, it feels like our house is the geriatric dog ward!

And, of course, a trip to my dad's would not be complete without a tour of the garden and a cooler full of produce in the car when I leave.  There will be many yummy salads at my house this week, with radish and onions and herbs.  If anyone has any suggestions for recipes that use savory, feel free to send them my way! My dad thought he had picked out a rosemary plant, but when he got home, he realized it was a savory plant.  We are both new to this herb.

Now, you'll have to excuse me so I can go inspect myself and both dogs for wood ticks.  The ticks and deer flies were nasty this time!